NOTE: I've highlighted the two parts that you need to edit. those values were by default set to alot less than what mine says above. I set mine to 150000 which should clear the clip plane completely off the map.

Some notes: I've heard ruomors or issues that, when you set your graphics anti-aliasing to off, the clip plane shows up. when you set the feature to EDGE SMOOTHING, it goes away but the distance looks fuzzy.

the clipping plane should not work anymore. I'm using an ATI X1800GTO 256MB and it makes a big difference in that you can see farther(as does the enemy) and things don't seem to just appear anymore.

but you must remember that when you move the edited PATCH.BUNDLE folder into the GRAW/LOCAL folder and then edit the GRAW/Context.xml file from language=English to language=LOCAL, then the changes should make a difference then.

(assuming you've done that already)

added: if there's any confusion, the contex.xml file that needs to be changed is the one where the GRAW.exe file is.

The issue with the items disappearing are only dealing with PROPS. if you are familiar with the GRAW editor, then you know that the trees and various others items that disappear are PROPS. but the STATIC stuff the map, the buildings, roads..EVERYTHING that's associated with the STATIC items in the editor are full open in view.

I was on the high ground cliff (on the side of the sun) and looked across the map. I only saw the tree foliage and no trunk but i could see way across the map anyway.

This shouldn't be a BIG issue as you should still be able to see each other. But i will look into getting the props (trees mostly) to show at long range

Ok, I've done some pretty extensive testing of my worklisted above and I got it down. still can't alleviate the tree trunks not showing up at great distances but hey, it's coming together nicely. ok, the thick of this work;

1. before you edit this material.xml file, there was a default "clip plane" out at an extended distance that even would hide the enemy. so the work was done to keep enemy contact reasonable by limiting the enemies ability to see you at long range.
A. in effect this is what I've done and am sharing with you all;
A1: as a result, the clip range has been set so high that you shouldn't be able to see it at any range within your view.
A2: all you could see upon careful inspection is the enemies muzzleflash behind the clip range limit.(my last FAILED attempt was that huge mod sucked badly too.) but now the enemy have nowhere to hide now. you can see them and a great distance compared to before under default conditions. as with my last mod, the enemy can engage you from farther out, so the rule, if you can see them, they can see you generally applies.
B: An example: try mayday! mayday! [GR] cooperative(at spawn) and manuever yourselves through the rock by the chairs and tables. there's a sniper on the roof to the right of that location. under my extensive testing just to see how far he would see and engage me. from the same location( between the opening in the rock near the spawn) i ran to the building to the left on the low ground. I crested the hill just before the building and the sniper shot at me but just missed me. so the enemy are keen with this adjustment.

Overall I have been sucessful and am enjoying the work I'm doing. I'm more appreciative of the work I've done rather than having Grin doing it for me. though they could get rid of the low detail textures on the buildings at long range .

I'll continue my research and work on this and report back often as time allows for further reports.

If all you are editing is the material.xml, is it really necessary to import the whole bundle? Why not create a local/english/Data/settings folder and put the edited file there. Alternately, could you just put it in the default GRAW/Data/settings folder and avoid having to edit the context.xml?

because the file and what it affects is in the patch.bundle. but i guess you can try but i won't garauntee that it will work. there's a reason why the files are kept together. but this is proof that the modding for GRAW is subpar to say the least.

Try it both ways. I always try and keep the bundle folder together for keeping things simple.